Foreign Ministry challenges BBC over “Stadiums of Hate” documentary

Poland's foreign ministry has sent a statement to the BBC challenging the Stadiums of Hate documentary about racism in Polish and Ukrainian football that aired on British television on Monday night.

Будинок польського Міністерства закордонних справWikipedia/Prajar90

Sol campbell: photo - wikicommons

“The material emitted in the programme expresses an unfair opinion by saying that it could be dangerous in Poland during Euro 2012,” said Marcin Bosacki, spokesman for the foreign office, in an interview with the Polish Press Agency.

“We are extremely sorry that the material only contains the opinions of one person,” Bosacki added, in reference to the programme's director, Chris Rogers.

“One could not find there the statements of foreign experts regarding the field of security,” Bosacki said.

“No one turned to the foreign ministry, or the Polish Police,” he said.

Similarly, Bosacki rejected England player Sol Campbell's claim that black football fans “could come back in a coffin” if they attend the tournament.

Meanwhile, PL.2012, the official Polish body charged with organising the event, has invited Mr Campbell to Poland.

“We have invited Sol Campbell to come to the European Championships, so that he csn get to know our country, and then he will be fully entitled to express opinions about Poland,” said Mikolaj Piotrowski, communications director for Pl.2012.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk has already pledged that “nobody who comes to Poland will be in any danger because of their race.”

Over in Kiev, the reaction has also been defensive, with the foreign ministry claiming that the racism problems are “dreamed up and mythical.”

Meanwhile, after digesting the racist chants captured in stadiums in the BBC's Panorama programme, the UK's Daily Telegraph has stated that the Polish and Ukrainian governments "must act now" to combat the problem, saying that "the creep of extremism reminiscent of the 1930s," is evident. (nh)